Greens in bid to reduce Upper House power

The Tasmanian Greens will introduce a bill for both houses of parliament to go to elections if a state budget is blocked.

The Greens leader, Nick McKim, says the Legislative Council holds a disproportionate amount of power.

The party plans to introduce legislation before 2014 to strip the Upper House of its power to block the budget without going to an election.

The Greens leader Nick McKim first floated the idea in April, when Legislative Councillors threatened to block the budget over health cuts and a Forestry Tasmania contingency fund.

He supports retaining the upper house but says if supply is blocked, MLCs should have to face the public in an election.

"Specifically there I'm talking about the capacity of the upper house to block a state budget which would send the entire House of Assembly to an election to face the people because you can't govern with no money," he said.

"But in that event the Legislative Council, quite shamefully and unreasonably in my view, isn't required to face the voters."

"The current situation is not only unreasonable, it's undemocratic and it means the Upper House can send the House of an Assembly to an election without itself being held to account by the Tasmanian people for its actions."

The Liberals have accused Mr McKim of "chucking a tantrum" over the failure of the same-sex marriage bill.

Pembroke MLC Vanessa Goodwin says he should be focussing on fixing the state's economy.

Ms Goodwin branded the move a shameful attack on the Legislative Council.

"I don't think he has the best interests of Tasmania at heart here at all," she said.

"I think this is all about the fact that he wasn't able to get the same sex marriage bill through the Legislative Council.

"He doesn't want the Legislative Council to have the power to force an election or reject bad legislation and that's what his concern is here."

Ms Goodwin says the Opposition will not support the Greens' legislation.